Do people really win?

As many of you shall probably know entering sweepstakes online is a major hobby of mine. When I tell people about it and start listing some of the things I have won, I am always bombarded with a multitude of questions so have decided to answer some of these for anyone looking to get into this hobby.

Do you really win? The answer to this is quite simply YES. When I am persistent with my entering it is normal for me to get at least one winning notification per week. Of course if I have been slacking off then it might only be one a month, but you have to remember is that it truly is a game of luck. You could enter 500 and only win one, or you could enter 500 and win 500..... its not likely but at the end of the day if the sweepstakes you are entering randomly draw their winners then anything is possible! One of the most important pieces of advice I can give is truly that persistence is key. It is certainly a hobby where you get out of it what you put in, so if you can spend 4 hours per day entering and averaging about 100-200 entries a day then its highly likely you will win often and many.

How do you do it? It truly is a very easy hobby to start and extremely fast to pick up. Firstly the site I use and would recommend is www.online-sweepstakes.com and it is where I enter 99% of the sweepstakes. Register on the site, and voila you can start entering.

How long does it take? Sort of touched upon this in the first question but shall mention it again. You can spend 10 minutes a week doing it or 10 hours a day doing it the choice is yours! The longer you spend entering and the more sweepstakes you enter shall directly influence how many you win. Find a balance that is right for you. I spend between one hour and 3 hours per day entering normally, however there are some days I just dont feel like it so dont enter any!

When will I win? This varies greatly, and depends on when the sweepstakes you are entering have ended. You could enter a sweepstakes in June, but if it doesnt end until December obviously you won't hear anything about it under after it has ended, unless it is an instant win or alerts winners at intervals throughout the time. When I first started I was entering about 50 per day and received my first win notification after about 6 weeks, so once again persistence is key. Many 'sweepers' regularly go through dry spells where for weeks or months they win nothing but they keep on entering, because just like with the lottery if you don't enter you cant win!

Are they scams? If you use Online-sweepstakes.com all of the sweepstakes they list are 100% legit. The moderators check every single sweep submitted and will ensure it is fully legal, real and scam-free. Everyone has come across the web sites which claim to offer free ipads and cameras to 'test' with 'participation required', you should never enter your information in these. They are not sweepstakes, and 99% of the time they will sell you info to other companies and scam you.

Can you give me any tips? Why yes, yes I can. Here are a few;

• Download a free program called roboform. This is an automatic form filler, and after entering your information when you load a sweepstakes page with a form all you have to do is click a logo in your toolbar and it fills your information into the form for you. This is a HUGE time saver and enables you to truly enter hundreds of sweeps per hour.
• Set up a new gmail address and use it only for sweeping. One of the main downsides to this hobby is that you will receive copious amount of junk mail, both in email form and through the post. Unfortunately even if you uncheck every box which says 'sign up for newsletter' you shall still receive them. Gmail is great at sorting spam from non spam which is why it is my favorite.You can also set up 'google alerts' which shall email you if they find certain words on the internet. For example one of mine is "faye oliver winner" So if it ever find my name listed as a winner, it emails me to let me know incase I miss it!
• Answer your phone!!! If you are a person who doesn't like answering hidden numbers you shall have to get over it, because many companies prefer to phone people and let them know they are winners. This is especially true for the higher value ones and many winning phone calls are for things such as TV's and holidays, and if you do not answer first time they can select another winner so always answer your phone and keep it close!!
• Remember the tax man. Unfortunately in the United States wins are taxed so if you win anything over a certain value chances are you shall receive a 1099 at the end of the year for it, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Well thats about it. Head on over to www.online-sweepstakes.com and have a look around, there are threads in the forums dedicated to helping newbies so if this hobby is something you want to try they are a great starting tool. Remember to have fun and only enter for things you want to win, don't waste your time entering for things you don't!

Here are some of my winning lists;

2011 wins

2009 wins